# Favorite one-hit wonders from the '90s. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137 "2009-11-27T15:55:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/41 "2009-11-28T03:24:53Z")
Rush? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/42 "2009-11-28T03:38:48Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > Soul Asylum- Runaway Train > > Cake- The Distance Soul Asylum also had “Black Gold” and “Somebody to Shove,” which were moderate hits. As for Cake, you mustn’t be a fan of the TV show “Chuck.” > [@Asimovian](#): > > Rush? Seriously? The name of the song is “Rush”; they aren’t referring to the Canadian prog-band. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/43 "2009-11-28T03:39:25Z")
I should also throw out an honorable mention to [Ugly Kid Joe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3bht7S-3vI) whose cover of “Cat’s in the Cradle” kicked ass. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/44 "2009-11-28T03:41:09Z")
> [@mshar253](#): > > The name of the song is “Rush”; they aren’t referring to the Canadian prog-band. Heh. My bad. :o ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/45 "2009-11-28T03:45:09Z")
White Town, [“Your Woman”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQWt3oMids) ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/46 "2009-11-28T03:56:16Z")
This list is going better than the 80s one, but there are some glaring oversights. If we use the definition proffered upthread, then Big Audio Dynamite can’t be considered a one-hit wonder. “The Globe” was a minor hit (#3 Modern Rock), and the band was Mick Jones of The Clash, Don Letts, and whoever was hanging out with them at the moment. I hated that Primitive Radio Gods song, but it was everywhere that summer it came out… and thankfully that band (person?) was never heard from again. I would second “In the Meantime” by Spacehog. British band, has a huge hit in America, I think relatively unheard of in their native land, and limped away into obscurity. That bass line is one of the greatest of all time. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/47 "2009-11-28T03:57:23Z")
These threads always annoy me quite a bit for their presumed US-centric nature. Several of the bands cited above may only have had one US hit but were not one-hit-wonders elsewhere in the world. Space, for example had 6 top 20 hits in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/48 "2009-11-28T03:59:13Z")
Looking upthread… cor, there were a lot of horrible novelty hits in the 90s. Just seeing some of the titles of these songs makes me want to hit somebody in the face. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/49 "2009-11-28T04:17:25Z")
I agree with some of the posters that to call Oasis or Chris Isaak one-hit-wonders is a bit of a stretch. They may only have had one song that charted really high, but it’s not like faded into obscurity like the Crash Test Dummies or Primitive Radio Gods. They still have pretty big followings, but the way the music industry is set up these days makes it hard for them, and really any artist of a certain age, to regain their chart-topping status. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/50 "2009-11-28T04:21:09Z")
I hereby posit this definition for “one-hit wonder”: _An artist or group who had one single that reached mainstream success and then never had another single that did so or whose other singles were not generally accepted to have done so._ “Mainstream” means it was played on the radio and/or entered heavy rotation on a music video channel. “Success” means either a #1, top 10, or top 40 single, or a single that was generally accepted as a “hit” by most music consumers in your area. This includes artists or bands that had a considerable underground following before their mainstream success (Bosstones would count, for example, since they never had a “hit” before “The Impression That I Get” despite their large body of work and fanbase), since we’re judging by mainstream success. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/51 "2009-11-28T04:22:19Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > Certainly not a one-hit wonder in Europe. They also had “Carnival,” which was vastly superior to “Lovefool,” and a cover of “Iron Man.” > > Ah, yep, I forgot about “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” one of the most annoying songs I’ve ever heard. I never cared much for The Spin Doctors. I never cared much for the the Spin Doctors either, but I do have fond memories of listening to that song on the bus in middle school. When the lyric “I hope you hear this song and it pisses you off” came up, everyone would shout along to it in unison. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/52 "2009-11-28T04:24:08Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > I hereby posit this definition for “one-hit wonder”: > > _An artist or group who had one single that reached mainstream success and then never had another single that did so or whose other singles were not generally accepted to have done so._. By mainstream do you mean US, UK, either, neither, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America? How do you tally whether a song was a mainstream success? Top 75, Top 50, Top 40, Top 10 etc? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/53 "2009-11-28T04:27:22Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Looking upthread… cor, there were a lot of horrible novelty hits in the 90s. Just seeing some of the titles of these songs makes me want to hit somebody in the face. I dunno, I think it’s about on par for most decades, the 90’s were just more recent so we’re more likely to remember the novelty ones. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/54 "2009-11-28T04:35:54Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > By mainstream do you mean US, UK, either, neither, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America? How do you tally whether a song was a mainstream success? Top 75, Top 50, Top 40, Top 10 etc? I said it would constitute something that was “generally accepted as a ‘hit’ by most music consumers in your area,” feel free to list some that may apply where you grew up (but may not apply in other areas). It should make for interesting discussion. As for “success” I said: _“Success” means either a #1, top 10, or top 40 single, or a single that was generally accepted as a “hit” by most music consumers in your area_ ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/55 "2009-11-28T04:44:18Z")
About half of the songs in this thread weren’t hits. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/56 "2009-11-28T04:45:12Z")
Sorry, edit time passed (I copy-and-pasted the wrong part). I’ll repeat: Mainstream “means it was played on the radio and/or entered heavy rotation on a music video channel,” in your area, without prejudice to any geographic location. So, if something did so in Ireland or Zimbabwe, where you may have grown up, but didn’t in America or Canada, but still fits the other criteria, it counts. ---
**Author:** ![pompeybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8c91f0/32.png) [@pompeybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pompeybear)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/57 "2009-11-28T04:53:42Z")
[“Do Anything” by Natural Selection featuring Niki Haris (1991); (reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLZOyRC5WcI) ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/58 "2009-11-28T05:21:36Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > I hereby posit this definition for “one-hit wonder”: > > _An artist or group who had one single that reached mainstream success and then never had another single that did so or whose other singles were not generally accepted to have done so._ > > “Mainstream” means it was played on the radio and/or entered heavy rotation on a music video channel. “Success” means either a #1, top 10, or top 40 single, or a single that was generally accepted as a “hit” by most music consumers in your area. This includes artists or bands that had a considerable underground following before their mainstream success (Bosstones would count, for example, since they never had a “hit” before “The Impression That I Get” despite their large body of work and fanbase), since we’re judging by mainstream success. Ok, are you defining that for the OP per their request, or just because? That definition is pretty awful if you ask me. The Bosstones were your example? That’s as dated as the band I was in that sounded like 'em. Late 90’s. As far as “one hit” bands go… Aerosmith has had only one number one single, ever. Seems like there should have been at least a couple right? No, “Don’t want to miss a thing” was it. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/59 "2009-11-28T06:21:07Z")
This is the OP. Per Kidneyfailure, I’ll accept a hit as a “#1, top 10, or top 40 single, or a single that was generally accepted as a “hit” by most music consumers in your area.” But to me a one-hit-wonder would be someone that had their hit, or possibly two or even three within a short period, but then faded into obscurity. So I wouldn’t count a group like Oasis, which, even though it isn’t topping the charts these days, is still pretty popular. A group like the Verve, however, falls into something of a gray area. In the U.S. their one bonafide hit was “Bittersweet Symphony.” But then they broke up, only to come back together again. And they had a pretty bit following through it all. However (at least in the U.S.) they don’t have anything approaching the name recognition of Oasis. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/60 "2009-11-28T06:24:47Z")
Well, we all can use whatever criteria we want, I guess. I was just trying to streamline the conversation a bit. FAIL for kidney **fail** ure! Anyone else is free to give their definition if they’d like. I was just trying to help. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137.md?page=4)